Tesla said Friday that one of its Model X SUVs that was in a fatal crash earlier this month was in Autopilot mode when it hit a barrier and was subsequently struck by other cars, according to the WSJ.
Why it matters: Automakers and ride-sharing companies are trying to test and prove the safety of semi-autonomous and self-driving cars. These crashes are setbacks in that effort, both in terms of proving the technology and in gaining public trust.
Per the New York Times, "Exxon Mobil and other oil companies opened their wallets at an offshore oil auction in Brazil on Thursday in a sign that the industry was stepping back into the deepwater drilling business."
One reason it matters: The auction comes just a week after a big Interior Department lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico brought in just $125 million in total winning bids.
"The Trump administration is poised to abandon America's pioneering fuel economy targets for cars and SUVs, a move that would undermine one of the world's most aggressive programs to confront climate change," the L.A. Times' Evan Halper writes:
The big picture: The EPA is expected to announce soon "that it will scrap mileage targets the Obama administration ... that aim to boost average fuel economy for passenger cars and SUVs to 55 miles per gallon by 2025... The agency plans to replace those targets with a weaker standard."
A federal judge in New York Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by ExxonMobil seeking to halt a probe by New York and Massachusetts into whether the oil and gas giant had lied to investors and the public about its knowledge of climate change. The company sued the states in 2016 after they subpoenaed documents regarding Exxon's research into fossil fuels' role in climate change.
Why it matters, per Axios’ Amy Harder: This move likely ensures there will eventually be discovery in the lawsuit where Exxon documents are disclosed, which would shed a lot of light—and headlines—on what Exxon really knew about climate change over the past decades.
The AP reports that Exxon says it's reviewing ruling and evaluating its next steps.
